Chapter 8 - THE ACCOUNTANT WHO KNEW EVERY NUMBER
My chief financial officer was named Andrew Keller.
Fifty-four.
Married.
Two daughters.
Twenty-two years with Whitmore Holdings.
He was the least intimidating man in my organization.
Which, I realized, was exactly why Victor might have chosen him.
Andrew knew every account.
Every shell company.
Every trust.
Every wire transfer.
And he had personally approved the charitable payments connected to Hawthorne Care Initiative.
I asked for an independent forensic audit before confronting him.
Willa noticed.
"You're not going after him?"
"Not yet."
She looked surprised.
A year ago, I would have sent armed men.
Today, I wanted evidence.
"I'm learning," I said.
One corner of her mouth moved.
"Slowly."
"Painfully."
"Good."
That almost made me smile.
The audit revealed hidden transfers.
Andrew had routed money from Whitmore companies into accounts linked to Victor.
Some transactions used my electronic authorization credentials.
Others had been disguised as security expenses.
My name appeared everywhere.
But metadata showed approvals originated from Andrew's office.
Then we found messages.
Andrew to Victor.
D still suspects nothing.
Another:
Housekeeper has begun asking about old files.
My blood went cold.
Willa.
They had been watching her before I followed her.
I showed her the messages.
Her face went pale.
"They knew about Lorraine?"
"Possibly."
Then we found one sent six weeks earlier.
The exact week Willa discovered my mother.
Mercer girl found Sycamore. Do we move L?
Victor replied:
No. Watch her. She may lead us to Marianne's records.
Willa stared.
"I was bait."
My jaw tightened.
"They let you keep visiting because they hoped you'd reveal what your mother hid."
She looked toward me.
"And I brought it straight into your house."
The canvas bag.
The key.
The archive.
Victor had been waiting.
I contacted law enforcement and my attorneys.
Andrew was detained for questioning after warrants were obtained.
He initially denied everything.
Then investigators presented the messages.
His composure broke.
He admitted working for Victor.
But claimed he didn't know about the unlawful confinement.
I didn't know whether that was true.
For once, I let investigators decide.
Then Andrew said something unexpected.
Victor wasn't trying to recover the ledger simply to destroy evidence.
He wanted one page.
A page Charles Whitmore had removed decades earlier.
"What page?" I asked.
Andrew swallowed.
"The succession page."
My father looked confused.
Lorraine went still.
I noticed.
"Mom?"
Her eyes filled.
"Charles..."
My father lowered his head.
"What is the succession page?"
He said nothing.
I stepped closer.
"Dad."
Finally, he answered.
"It identifies the real owner of the original Whitmore shipping company."
I frowned.
"My grandfather founded it."
Charles shook his head.
"No."
The room went silent.
"Then who?"
He looked toward Lorraine.
She closed her eyes.
May you like
And my father whispered:
"Your mother did."
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